UPC's Akena declares 2026 presidential bid

Waata, who passed away aged 74 years, was one the first district councilors when Busia was carved out from Tororo and had served as a lecturer at Makerere University Business School (MUBS).

“Come 2026, I will not make myself available for any seat, but for the Presidency. I have been voted to Parliament several times; so, come 2026, I will contest for the Presidency,” Mr Akena declared, drawing applause from a section of mourners.

Mr Akena, who was flanked by UPC leaders from Lango Sub-region and other parts of the country, described the late Waata as “a devoted party member and nationalist”, adding: “He desisted acts of corruption and stuck to the UPC ideology.”

The Lira City East Division Member of Parliament and son to late President, Dr Apollo Milton Obote, said his decision to gun for the country’s most coveted seat hinges on improving quality service delivery in key sectors of education, health and infrastructure.

“I plan to revive the lost glory of the country’s education sector by ensuring there is equitable access to quality education by all Ugandans. Busia has produced great brains such as Justices Benjamin Odoki, James Ogoola, and Professor Barnabas Nawangwe, among others,” Mr Akena added.

He said he was praying for sanity to prevail in the country’s politics ahead of the 2026 presidential polls, adding that he was into politics based on issues, rather than “drama” which is being promoted by some politicians he didn’t name.

As a precursor to his presidential bid, Mr Akena said he will undertake mass mobilisation countrywide to see that his party regains ground.

“UPC was a strong party that had massive support all over the country; we would want to see this support revived,” he said, pledging full support to all party candidates from the village to parliamentary seats during campaigns.

The Busia Municipality deputy Mayor, Ms Susan Wandera, said whereas the UPC leader is a staunch critic of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, he is “a good man” because he allowed his wife, Ms Betty Amongi to become minister.

Ms Amongi is the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development.

Ms Wandera added: “As the ruling party, we don’t have any problem with UPC because they are our allies; Jimmy Akena who is here allowed his wife to become a minister in our government and I thank him for that.”

Busia NRM-UPC politics

In the 1960s and 1980s, Samia Bugwe County in Busia District, which was under Tororo District at the time, was a UPC stronghold and boasted leaders such as Wilson Okwenje, formerly the Minister for Public Service, Sam Odaka (RIP) and Aggrey Awori (RIP).

When the UPC government under Dr Obote was deposed by the Tito Okello Lutwa-led junta in 1985, the bulk of its supporters in Busia remained intact from 1986 when President Museveni assumed leadership of the country.

The creation of the broad-based government by President Museveni saw several UPC leaders who had fled to exile return and reestablish the UPC footprint in Busia District, which saw Awori elected to the Constituency Assembly in 1994 and to Parliament in 1996 and 2001.

However, in the 2006 General Elections, the current district LC5 chairman, Mr Stephen Wasike Mugeni, through mass mobilisation and the help of then Resident District Commissioner, Ms Robinah Nabbanja (now Prime Minister), won the Samia Bugwe County North parliamentary seat on an NRM ticket. Subsequent events saw Awori and key UPC supporters defect to the NRM.

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